FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT OFFENSIVE LINEMEN - PAGE 3

On the second day of The Baltimore Sun's countdown of the Top 5 high school football teams, we take a look at No. 4 McDonogh, which should be one of the contenders in the area's toughest league, the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference. Through the rest of the week, we'll count down to No. 1 and the entire Top 15 poll, along with a look at the top players to watch, will be published Friday in The Baltimore Sun and on baltimoresun.com. For a look at No. 5 Dunbar, click here . 4. McDonogh Coach: Dom Damico Last season: 6-5, No. 7. Postseason: MIAA A Conference semifinalist Key players: WR-DB Taysean Scott, Sr.; WR-DB Jabari Weems, Sr.; RB-LB Wyatt Cook, Soph.; QB Duke Etchison, Jr.; WR-DB Kareem Montgomery, Soph.; LB Akeem Myers-Blakney, Soph; WR Mike Cornwell, Soph.; OL Jared Cohen, Jr. Outlook: Some coaches in the A Conference have said next year will be the Eagles' year, but they're not counting them out this year either.

With the Ravens now officially in the "Festivus," the well-dressed Baltimore fan may want to pick up a stylish new Festivus T-shirt to go along with the requisite giant foam-finger, purple hard hat and full camo gear. The brainchild of offensive lineman Edwin Mulitalo, the black T-shirts with purple lettering say "Happy Festivus Baltimore Style" and, once printed up this week, will sell for $19.95. Festivus, you may recall, was the word the Ravens came up with as a substitute for "playoffs" a couple of weeks ago, after coach Brian Billick banned the P-word from being uttered by the entire organization.

Survival game The Ravens' offense managed only three field goals but it left satisfied. After losing two offensive linemen (left tackle Adam Terry and center Mike Flynn) on one series in the first half, the Ravens had to gut it out with three rookie blockers. Plus, with Todd Heap and Daniel Wilcox sidelined, the Ravens played with one healthy tight end (Quinn Sypniewski). Back and kicking After uncharacteristically missing two field-goal attempts a week ago, Matt Stover carried the Ravens offensively with three field goals yesterday, converting from 26, 32 and 49 yards.

The NFL has released some intimate audio and video from the sidelines of Super Bowl XLVII, and one of the most interesting exchanges was filmed on the Ravens sideline before the final play of Baltimore's 34-31 win. As Sam Koch prepared to boot a free kick to San Francisco 49ers return Ted Ginn Jr., quarterback Joe Flacco told his teammates to run onto the field and tackle Ginn if it looked like he was going to score. This, of course, is illegal and could have resulted in an automatic touchdown, but Flacco wasn't sure about the rule.

Record-breaking wide receiver Deon Long and offensive lineman Silvano Altamirano have signed letters of intent to play football at Maryland, coach Randy Edsall announced today. Long, a D.C. native and Dunbar High graduate, was the National Junior College Athletic Association's top-ranked receiver in catches (100), yards (1,625) and touchdowns (25). A first-team All-American, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore led Iowa Western Community College to the NJCAA national championship. “I am very excited about Deon joining the Terrapin family,” Edsall said in a news release.

Talk to Wilde Lake's Donovan Burns and Jay Green about football and they will shatter some notions about offensive linemen.The duo, described by Wildecats coach Doug DuVall as the "best pair of offensive tackles I've ever had," appear destined to lead Wilde Lake to its fourth straight state football championship and fifth overall.Burns and Green scoff at fans who think offensive linemen are just big dumb jocks slugging it out for two halves with other big dumb jocks.They see their positions as highly skilled and requiring great intelligence.

Ravens end a run on offensive linemen The Ravens, who have said all offseason that they would like to improve their offensive line, watched as a run on offensive linemen unfolded between their two picks in the second round. Two picks after the Ravens drafted Upshaw at pick No. 37, the Cleveland Browns selected California offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz. Three picks later, the Carolina Panthers took Midwestern State guard Amini Silatolu. In the next two picks, the Buffalo Bills drafted Georgia guard/tackle Cordy Glenn and the Miami Dolphins drafted Stanford tackle Jonathan Martin.

It was a painful reunion yesterday with Trent Dilfer, but it had nothing to do with the Super Bowl-winning quarterback's one-time grudge against the Ravens. Entering the game without four starters and then losing two offensive linemen in one series, the Ravens persevered in an ugly yet satisfying 9-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers before 67,885 at Monster Park. Injuries continue to take their toll on the Ravens, who were down to three rookie blockers, one healthy tight end and no backup offensive linemen.

Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata had mapped out an ambitious plan, albeit one not readily apparent when he lumbered onto the practice field for a June minicamp. Considerably heftier than usual after spending his offseason intentionally bulking up, Ngata didn't display his trademark explosiveness. The extra bulk around Ngata's midsection and torso raised eyebrows about whether the three-time Pro Bowl selection had gone too far in his quest to become stronger and more durable and maintain his speed after wearing down toward the end of last season due to a deep thigh bruise.

Ravens center Matt Birk, who injured his shoulder in Sunday's 24-10 win over the Cleveland Browns, returned to practice Friday after sitting out the previous two and is optimistic that he will make his 93rd straight start. “Yeah, I feel good. We're still 48 hours away, and there's a lot to be done,” Birk said. “But I think it's one of those things where we'll have to see how it feels on Sunday. ... There's so much stress and worry and all those things that you just live in the now and go to the trainer's room and do what they tell me to do.” If for some reason Birk can't go Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, Andre Gurode is waiting in the wings.